GOP hits Klain’s lack of medical credentials
Republicans say Ebola czar should have been real doctor, not spin doctor
                             —- Headlines, Washington Times, Oct. 20, 2014

Ted Cruz Republicans see the Obama presidency as an overreaching socialist dictatorship; Elizabeth Warren Democrats see it as an underachieving progressive technocracy. Take your pick: Lenin in an Armani suit or Jimmy Carter without the peanuts.

My own view is more comedic than dramatic. As one who has worked in the political trenches for two White House administrations, it’s hard to take seriously a President who would appoint as Ebola czar a political button man whose main claim to fame is having been portrayed by Kevin Spacey in a TV docudrama about the 2000 election recount in Florida.

Why appoint an Ebola czar at all? The only reason is to reassure a fearful public, and for that a serious administration would name a renowned epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins or the Mayo Clinic. But no, explains the White House press spokesman in a statement worthy of a “Daily Show” parody, “What we’re looking for is not an Ebola expert but an implementation expert.”

Hmmm … on second thought, I have two other theories: First, that the Republican National Committee has planted a mole in the White House advisory circle; second, that busy as he is on the fundraising circuit, this President has turned the Ebola problem over to Ron Klain’s ex-boss, the comedic figure inhabiting the Vice President’s office.

Sound Bite to Remember

“I think reality is vastly overrated.”

Hollywood director Michael Caton-Jones, circa 1991